have one's ducks in a row

get one's ducks in a row

have one's ducks in a row

verb phrase

(Variations: have

[or get] one's ducks all in a row or have [or get] all one's ducks in a row) To be fully prepared; to be organized; DO one's HOMEWORK : You have five years to get all your ducks in a row/ Want to get all your ducks in a row? Get ChemPlus [1970s+ Army; perhaps fr a mother duck's marshaling of her ducklings in a neat flotilla behind her; perhaps fr some game]

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.Cite This Source